Protective device for desks



109. SAFES, BANK PRO'ltUHUN AND RELATED DEVICES.

Jan. 5 1926. 1,563,356

A. VUMBACA PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR DESKS Filed March 30 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

109. SAFES, BANK PHU ltU HUN AND RELATED DEVICES.

Jan. 5 1926.

1,568,356 A. VUMBACA PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR DESKS Filed March 3 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 109. SAFES, BANK mu l u, I m

AND RELATED DEVICES.

jam. 5 9 1926, L5$$5$ \IUMEAGA PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR DESKS Filed March-50 1925 Sheets-Sheet 5 109. SN E5, BANK lnullzo I we: AND RELATED DEVICES.

Patented Jan. 5', 1926.

UNITED STATES ANTHONY VUMBACA, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

PROTECTIVE .DEVICE FOR DESKS.

Application filed March 30, 1925. Serial No. 19,285.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, ANTHONY VUMBACA, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Protective Devices for Desks, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to protective devices for desks and has for its object to provide a device of this character comprising a shield forming the top of the desk, which shield is controlled by mechanism which will instantly raise the same to operative position in front of a person seated at the desk for protecting the person from hold-up men and the like.

A further object is to provide the shield with side wings which extend downwardly into the desk adjacent its opposite ends and with a hinged section at its forward end which is normally folded under the main body of the shield but is raised to substantially a vertical position when the shield is raised, thereby forming a front protecting wall for the device; also to provide the wings and hinged sections through which the barrel of a revolver or other firearm may be placed for repelling the hold-up man, or robber.

A further object is to provide a tray beneath the body of the shield in which firearms may be kept ready for use, immediately upon the raising of the shield to operative position.

A further object is to provide pivoted levers adjacent the end walls of the desk, one of the ends of said levers is connected to the shield and a link connected to the other ends of the levers, and to arms carried by a rock shaft. Also to provide tensioned springs connected to the links and to the rock shaft, and which tension springs immediately upon tripping of latching means impart pulls on the links and rock the levers, thereby raising the shield to operative position.

A further object is to provide latching de vices at opposite ends of the desk, and which latching devices are controlled through the medium of a rock shaft and a single foot lever, located beneath the desk.

With the above and other objects in view the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawing, described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional form of desk, showing the device applied thereto, and showing the operative position thereof in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the front of the desk and shield, showing the shield in operative position.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the desk showing the shield and mechanism applied thereto.

Figure 4; is a vertical transverse sectional view through the desk taken on line 44 of Figure 3, the partitions of the desk being eliminated to better show the structure.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a conventional form of desk and 2 the end walls thereof. Disposed on the top of the desk is a normally horizontally disposed plate 3 formed of metal, and which plate forms the top of the desk and is preferably inset therein, so that its u per side is flush with the upper side of the desk. Plate 3 is formed from a heavy sheet metal of sufficient hardness to deflect bullets of heavy caliber revolvers, and to protect a person located behind the desk. Extending downwardly through transversely disposed slots 4 in the top of the desk adjacent the inner sides of the end walls 2 are wing plates 5, which wing plates, when the device is in operative position as shown in Figure 2, protect the person behind the desk from bullets fired from either side of the desk, therefore it will be seen that bullets will not only be deflected upwardly from the inclined plate 3, when in operative position, but the person behind the desk will be protected from side attack. Hingedly connected at 6 to the forward edge of the plate 3 is afront plate 7, which front plate, when the plate 3 is in full line position, shown in Figure 4:, folds under the plate 3 in the longitudinally disposed recess 8 in the top of the desk, and when the plate 3 is in raised operative position, the front plate 7 is in substantially a vertical position. When the plate 3 moves upwardly, the side wing walls 5 move upwardly through the slots 4. in the top of the desk adjacent its ends, and the front plate 7 simultaneously moves to vertical position on its hinging point 9 within the chamber 8, therefore it will be seen that the person behind the desk will be thoroughly protected on three sides, as well as from over head firing. The front wall 7 and the wing walls 5 are provided with openings 10, through which the barrel of a revolver may be placed for firing at the hold-up man or burglar and repelling the attack. The openings 10 are preferably relatively small and are provided with recesses 11 through which the sight of the revolver may be placed, and through which the person behind the desk may look during an aiming operation. Disposed beneath the top plate 3 and normally closed thereby is a tray 13, in whlch a revolver 12 may be kept for instant use, as well as additional ammunition or other firearms, therefore it will be seen, 1mmediately upon the approach of a hold-up man and the raising of the shield, the person behind the desk can immediately grasp the revolver 12 and place the same through any of the openings 10 for firing at the holdup man or intruder.

Pivotally connected at 14 to the frames 15 of the desk adjacent the inner sides of the end walls thereof are rock levers 16, one end of which levers is pivotally connected at 17 to brackets 18 carried by the top 3 of the protecting device. The other ends of said levers extend rearwardly and have pivotally connected thereto at 19 downwardly and forwardly extending links 20. The lower ends of the links 20' are pivotally connected at 21 to upwardly extending arms 22 carried by a rock shaft 23, which extends longitudinally through the desk and is rockably mounted in the bearing members 24, carried by the end walls of the desk. Connected to the rock shaft 23 adjacent its ends are upwardly and rearwardly extending tensioned springs 25, the upper ends of which are connected at 26 to the links 20 adjacent their pivotal points 19, therefore it will be seen that when the latching arm 27 is moved out of engagement with the shoulder 28 of the bracket 18, the tensioned spring 25 will immediately impart a forward pull on the links 20, and will force the arms 22 forwardly until they engage the stops 29, at the same time the rock levers 16 will be rocked on their pivotal points 14 and the plate 3 will be moved upwardly to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4. The tension of the springs 25 is sufficient to insure an instantaneous movement of the shield to operative position for protecting the person behind the desk. The latching arms 27 are carried by a longitudinally disposed rock shaft 30, and which rock shaft is provided with a downwardly extending arm 31 to the lower end of which is pivotally connected at 32 a rearwardly extending connecting rod 33, which connecting rod is loosely connected at 34 to an upwardly extending arm 35 carried by a pivoted foot lever 36, which foot lever is normally held in inoperative position by means of a coiled spring 37. It will be seen that when a person is seated at the desk, upon approach of a highwayman or hold-up man it will only be necessary to place one foot on the foot lever 36, which action will impart a pull on the connecting rod 33, rock the rock shaft 30 which will move the latching arms 27 out of cooperative engagement with the brackets 18, thereby releasing the shield, and allowing the same to be immediately and-instantaneously raised to operative position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4 by means of the tensioned springs 25 for protecting a person disposed behind the desk, and which person may immediately grasp the revolver 12 in the tray 13 for defense purposes. When it is desired to place the shield in an inoperative position after an operation thereof, it will only be. necessary to force downwardly on the shield, and the link connections will guide the shield downwardly and forwardly, thereby tilting the front wall 7 in a manner whereby it will not interfere with the downward movement of the shield as a whole.

From the above it will be seen that a desk protecting device is provided, which is simple in construction, positive in its operation, and one which may be quickly released, and automatically moved to operative position in an emergency for repelling gttzli-ick and protecting the person behind the The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and useful is 1. The combination with a desk, of a protecting shield therefor, said shield having hingedly connected thereto at its forward end a protecting wall, said wall being hingedly connected to the desk, said wall, when the shield is in inoperative position being disposed below the shield.

2. The combination with a desk, of a protecting shield therefor, said shield having side walls extensing downwardly through slots in opposite sides of the desk, of a front wall hingedly connected to the forward of the shield, said front wall bein hingedly connected beneath the shield and spaced from the front side of the desk, and means for raising said shield.

3. The combination with a desk shield having a top wall and side wings, means for raising said shield, of a front vwall' hlngedly connected to the top wall and normally housed beneath the top wall. I

4. The combination with a desk shield having a top wall and side wings, said top wall forming a top for the desk, side walls carr ed by the top wall and normally housed withln the desk, of a front wall hingedly 109. S! to, new rnunnouuw AND RELATED DEVICES.

connected to the top wall and normally housed in a chamber beneath the top wall, said front wall being hingedly connected within said chamber at a point spaced from the front side of the top wall.

5. A protecting device for desks comprising a plate forming the top of the desk, side wings carried by said plate, a plate hingedly connected to the forward end of the first mentioned plate and to the desk and normally housed in a chamber beneath the first mentioned plate, cooperating lever and spring means for forcing said protecting device to raised operative position, and and means for controlling said lever and spring means.

6. A protecting device for desks comprising a plate disposed on the top of the desk, side walls carried by said plate and extending downwardly through slots in the desk, a hinged front wall carried by the plate and normally housed under the front plate and connected to the desk, lever and spring means for raising said protecting device,

7 latching means for holding said protecting device in inoperative position against the action of the lever and spring means, and means for releasing said lever and spring means.

7. The combination with a desk protecting shield comprising a plate adapted to be raised above the desk, of means for controlling said plate, said means comprising rock levers, said rock levers being pivotally connected to the plate, links pivotally connected to the rear ends of the rock levers, said links extending downwardly and forwardly, a rock shaft, upwardly extending arms carried by the rock shaft and pivoted to the forward ends of the links, coiled tensioned springs connected to said links and forming means for raising the plate to operative position, and latching means cooperating with the plate for holding the same in inoperative position against the action of the coiled springs.

8. The combination with a desk protecting plate disposed on a desk, of means for raising said plate to a position above the desk, said means comprising rock levers pivotally connected to the desk intermediate their ends, one of the ends of said rock levers being pivotally connected to the plate, links pivotally connected to the other ends of the rock levers, a rock shaft, arms carried by said rock shaft and connected to the links, coiled springs connected to the rock shaft and to the links and forming means for imparting pull on the links, a second rock shaft, a latching member carried by the plate adjacent its ends, latching arms carried by the second rock shaft and cooperating with the latching members of the plate, an arm carried by the second rock shaft, and a foot lever carried by said last named arm and forming means for rocking the second rock shaft and releasing the plate.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ANTHONY VUMBACA. 

